Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday expressed willingness to sit across the table for discussions on issues that needed to be resolved post-bifurcation, with his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
Mutual cooperation between A.P. and Telangana is imperative, he said in his first Independence Day address in the new State after hoisting the tricolour at the APSP police parade ground at Kurnool. The A.P. Reorganisation Bill empowers the Centre to take appropriate decisions if the two State governments fail to thrash out issues within a year.
“In case of lack of consensus, the issues will be referred to an arbitrator and subsequently to the Union government. If they still remain unresolved at all these levels, moving the court is the ultimate remedy,” Mr. Naidu said.
“Telugu people across the State had invested in developing Hyderabad, and it is our responsibility to protect their interests,” he remarked and called upon Telugus across the country and abroad to contribute to the development of the State. The Chief Minister also expressed his resolve for friendly relations with the neighbouring States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
A Water Grid Corporation will be set up to link reservoirs to cater to domestic and industrial needs and ensure water supply to all panchayats over the next five years.
The developmental plans include development of Tirupati, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam into mega cities and the establishment of a smart city in each of the 13 districts. A BC sub-plan for the economic development of the community, setting up a BC Commission to accord BC status to Kapus and Balijas and assistance to Brahmins and economically weaker sections among the upper castes are among the Chief Minister’s priorities.
Fourteen airports and 14 ports will be developed with inter-land linkage to spur export and import. This is besides Metro rail networks in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam and development of Nandyal-Porumamilla-Krishnapatnam and Kurnool-Nandyal-Giddalur-Vinukonda roads into national highways.
He also promised to ensure supply of purified water, uninterrupted power, connectivity and LPG supply to every household. The Chief Minister vowed to waive farmers’ loans up to Rs. 1.50 lakh per family irrespective of the Reserve Bank of India’s approval.
The government has withdrawn 106 cases involving 4,482 persons out of a total of 952 cases booked during anti-bifurcation movement. The remaining cases will also be dropped in due course.
“Though bifurcation was inevitable, the way in which it was done was painful. We are not staking claims on what was given to Telangana, but feel that injustice was meted out to Andhra Pradesh,” Mr. Naidu concluded.
